Allen Williamson of Saugus, Amherst College goes for national basketball championship Sunday

Thursday

Apr 4, 2013 at 12:01 AMApr 4, 2013 at 4:06 AM

While the entire nation is buzzing about Louisville, Wichita State, Syracuse and Michigan vying for the Division 1 national basketball championship this weekend, the Saugus sports community will be tuning into the CBS Sports Network Sunday afternoon (12:30 p.m.) to watch Amherst College (29-2) and its native son, Allen Williamson, go up against the Mary Hardin-Baylor of Belton, Texas Crusaders (27-5) for the NCAA Division 3 national title on Comcast Channel 261 or Verizon Fios Channel 94.

Joe McConnell/Wicked Local Saugus

While the entire nation is buzzing about Louisville, Wichita State, Syracuse and Michigan vying for the Division 1 national basketball championship this weekend, the Saugus sports community will be tuning into the CBS Sports Network Sunday afternoon (12:30 p.m.) to watch Amherst College (29-2) and its native son, Allen Williamson, go up against the Mary Hardin-Baylor of Belton, Texas Crusaders (27-5) for the NCAA Division 3 national title on Comcast Channel 261 or Verizon Fios Channel 94.

Atlanta is the center of the college basketball universe this weekend. The Division 1 games will be played at the Georgia Dome Saturday and Monday nights, while Philips Arena, the home of the NBA’s Atlanta Hawks, is the site of the Division 3 encounter on Sunday in celebration of the tournament’s 75th anniversary.

The Lord Jeffs of Amherst won the national crown in 2007, and they are back six years later looking to repeat their moment of glory. Williamson is a captain of this year’s squad, whose leadership ability on and off the court has catapulted Amherst to the grand stage, once again.

His 17-point and 10-rebound performance against North Central (Ill.) led Amherst to a 52-44 victory in a semifinal round game last Saturday. One more victory on Sunday afternoon will complete the mission, not to mention set a school record for the most consecutive wins in the history of the program at 24.

Needless to say, it has been a busy week for Williamson and the Lord Jeffs with practices everyday in preparation for the national title game, but the Saugus native still found time to answer some questions posed by the Saugus Advertiser about his equally impressive academic and athletic careers that shaped him into an individual without limitations.

Could you talk about your beginning years in Saugus playing sports, what was it like and how did you evolve as an athlete?

As a kid, I was playing town sports all the time. Initially, it was soccer, baseball and bowling, which kept me busy year-round.

Eventually, I started playing town team basketball. It was great playing these sports locally growing up. I had close friends who I played on multiple teams with. My brother, who’s a year younger, was also on most of my teams, and my father, Kip, coached me year-round in every sport.

Being coached by my dad was a blessing. He made me a better competitor, but he also kept me grounded. I don’t think there’s anything better for an active kid than playing sports with good friends and family like I did.

It wasn’t until seventh grade that I started playing organized basketball. I wasn’t very good at first, but I remember going undefeated in Saugus Town Team Basketball in my eighth grade year.

But soccer was still my best sport at that point, but I knew I had a lot of upside as a basketball player.

How did you end up at Pingree? Was there a recruiting process, and what were the deciding factors on your decision to go there?

My parents have always stressed the importance of a good education above all else. My siblings and I went to an excellent grade school together, as well as an excellent high school together, and eventually great colleges too.

I went to Brookwood School up in Manchester from kindergarten through eighth grade, and every year a bunch of kids go on to Pingree from there.

My sister had done just that the year, before my brother and I followed suit.

Pingree is in South Hamilton, just a couple of towns over from Brookwood. I remember talking to Steve Gibbs, the head basketball coach at Pingree, when I was an eighth grader. He had great things to say about the school, and I knew it would be easier for my parents if we went to the same school, so I paid a visit there, and loved it.

What sports did you play at Pingree, and when was the first time Amherst showed an interest in you? And what persuaded you to go there? What were some of the other schools you were looking at?

In my freshman year at Pingree, I played soccer, basketball and baseball. I came just short of making the varsity squads each season, but ended up being a key part of the freshman teams.

My freshman basketball season was particularly interesting. After being cut from the varsity team, I played a month or two on the freshman team, and averaged something like 30 points and 15 boards per game. Coach Gibbs eventually recognized what I could do, and I was starting for varsity soon after.

I stopped playing baseball to play AAU basketball in the spring, but continued playing soccer all four years. By my junior basketball season, I knew that I could play at the next level, and was getting some looks from local colleges. Schools like Babson, Tufts and Brandeis were persistent with the phone calls early on, but I hadn’t narrowed down my choices yet. I was getting letters from some Division 1 programs like BU, Cornell, Brown and Yale, so I wasn’t sure what level I would end up playing at.

I ended up looking at schools from the Ivy League, the Patriot League, the NE-10, the UAA and NESCAC. All I knew was that wherever I went, I wanted to get the best education I could while playing ball at a high level.

What’s the atmosphere like at a Division 3 school like Amherst for an athlete?

Amherst didn’t start recruiting me hard until midway through my senior year. They had seen me play at camp, and saw the numbers I was putting up that season. I researched the school a bit, and learned that Amherst is one of the nation’s best liberal arts institutions, and that their basketball program had just won the national championship in 2007.

I took a visit in February to see the campus, met the coaches and the players. Amherst became my first choice after that.

Being an athlete at a Division 3 school like Amherst is humbling. The school takes pride first and foremost in its academics, so athletes don’t get any special treatment in that aspect. Still, our athletic teams get solid recognition and support from our peers and faculty, as it’s no easy task to balance sports with the academic requirements.

What were the adjustments that you had to make between Prep School basketball and college?

The biggest adjustment I had to make between prep school ball and college was my game itself.

I was the tallest kid on the team at Pingree, so I spent most of my time in the post. However, at 6-3 I was the size of most wing players at the college level. I had to develop my game to become more of a guard, instead of a center. That meant improving both my ball-handling and shooting skills.

What were the goals heading into this year after a couple of near misses in the Sweet 16 and Eite 8 during the last two campaigns?

This year’s goal was to finish the job. In my sophomore year, we had a really good squad, but in my junior year we were convinced that no other team had as much talent.

We had three seniors, three juniors and two sophomores, who all contributed significantly. We knew we were good from the get-go, but it was really solidified when we went a perfect 13-0 in probably the toughest conference in D-3, en route to a NESCAC championship. We were favored to make a deep run in the NCAA tournament, but fell short in the Sweet 16 against Franklin and Marshall.

As a senior, I’ve kept in mind that this is my last shot at the national championship, which I came to Amherst to get. Myself and our two other seniors have really put this season on our backs, and we’ve finally gotten to the last step of the journey.

With a possible school record-setting year on the line, how is the team dealing with the national tournament hype to remain composed for the title game on Sunday?

All of the guys are very excited to play for the title, obviously. But simply making it to Atlanta isn’t the goal. We’re all focused on completing the task, and don’t pay much attention to the hype surrounding the game. We’re thrilled to showcase our talent on such a big stage, and setting the school record for the longest winning streak would just be the icing on the cake.

When did the team know that this might be a special season?

We've all been aware of how much talent we have since the beginning of the preseason, and we all talked about going all the way.

For me and the two other seniors, Willy Workman and Peter Kaasila, this season has meant everything for our basketball careers. We started off the season 6-2 after losing to two teams in consecutive weeks that we shouldn’t have lost to.

Things weren’t looking very good for us at that point. After that second lost to Babson, the three of us, who are also tri-captains, came together and talked to our coaching staff about where this season is heading.

We then met with our teammates in the locker room before practice and let it all out. We explained to our teammates how much this season meant to us, and how we had to find our identity as a team if we were to achieve great things.

Lots of emotion was flowing through the locker room that day, and it really brought us together as a team moving forward. We put the losses behind us, and have won 23 straight games since that day.

How would describe your role on the team, and are you dreaming about possible scenarios about taking that game-winning shot or coming up with the defensive play to clinch the national title?

As one of the stronger and more athletic players on the team, my role is to dominate the game from a physical standpoint. That means grabbing rebounds, finishing over opponents and making defensive stops. Not many players can keep up with me athletically, so I use that to exploit defenders. I also take pride in leading by example. As a captain, it’s important that I play the game with intensity, so that my teammates do too.

I often find myself daydreaming about making the game winning play on national TV to win the championship. I doubt it will end up going down like that, but at this point in my career I definitely have the desire and confidence to make a big play if the situation were to present itself.

Have you been thinking about your days playing in Saugus at Anna Parker and Stackpole Fields, and inside the various gyms, and now you are about to be running out of a locker room inside a professional arena with the national spotlight shining down on you? What’s going through your mind as you retrace your athletic steps throughout the years?

Looking back at my athletic career, I feel blessed that I’ve been able to come this far.

I remember shooting around at the hoops by Anna Parker as a 12 year-old, and not knowing what foot to jump off with when I shoot a lay-up.

Ten years later, I’m playing on a bigger stage than I ever imagined. It really makes me appreciate the positive influences I’ve had in my life. My parents have been with me every step of the way, pushing me to achieve more, both academically and athletically, and my coaches along the way have motivated me to strive for excellence.

In STTB, we went undefeated and won the championship when I was 13. At Pingree, we went undefeated in the EIL, and won the New England championship my senior year. This year, we’ve gone undefeated in the NESCAC, and now we’re one step away from winning it all.